How to Hand Feed Squirrels

Hand-feeding Young Squirrels

• 1

  Provide a safe "nest" for the squirrels. Line a box with soft cloths and place the squirrels inside. Wear gloves when you handle the animals. Use old T-shirts or other clothing items, and change the liner as it becomes soiled. Put the box in a quiet, warm room and keep the area dark.

• 2

  Keep the baby squirrels warm. Use touch to assess the animals' temperature. If they feel cold, use a heating pad under the box to warm them. A hot water bottle wrapped in a towel will also work. Check the temperature often to make sure they do not get overheated.

• 3

  Hydrate the baby squirrels as soon as they get warm. Never try to hydrate or feed a squirrel that is not warm. It is important to hydrate the squirrels before you feed them formula since they can die quickly from a lack for fluids. If the squirrels are weak and listless, they may be dehydrated. Prepare some unflavored Pedialyte or a similar solution. This drink is available at grocery stores in the infant aisle. If you do not have Pedialyte on hand, make a solution with 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 quart of warm water. The fluid should be lukewarm.

• 4

  Feed the squirrels with a small syringe. It should be no larger than 3 cc, with the 1 cc size being the best for young, hairless squirrels. Oral syringes are available at pharmacies. Do no use an eyedropper or baby bottle. They increase the risk of the baby squirrels aspirating, or breathing in the fluid. You will know the animal has aspirated fluid if you see bubbles coming out its nose while you are feeding it. Hold the baby upright to feed it. Give as much fluid as the baby will take every two hours for up to 12 hours.

• 5

  Start feeding formula after 12 hours. Georgia wildlife rehabilitator Sarah Rowe recommends using Esbilac Powder Milk Replacer for puppies. She advises mixing it with heavy whipping cream. Her recipe is two parts water to one part formula powder to 1/4 part heavy whipping cream. The mixture will keep in a refrigerator for up to three days. Use the syringe to feed lukewarm formula into the squirrel's mouth. Watch its stomach to see it is getting full. Its round belly shouldn't be tight or appear bloated after a meal. Provide formula to each squirrel every two to three hours. Unless they are sick or dehydrated, they will not need to be fed overnight. Check the appearance of the stomach to assess whether the animals is ready for another meal. At five weeks, the feedings should be reduced to every four hours.

• 6

  Stimulate the squirrels before every meal to encourage urination and defecation. The squirrel's mother would lick them to cause elimination. If they do not do urinate or defecate regularly, the babies will get sick. Tickle the animals' genitals with some soft material or a cotton ball. You will need to do this until the squirrels are six weeks old.

• 7

  Introduce solid foods around six weeks. Rodent chow is an ideal weaning food, and it is available at pet stores. Do not use hamster or gerbil food. Place the food in the nest, and the squirrels should begin gnawing on them. Provide fresh vegetables such as sweet potatoes, grapes, apples, broccoli and kale as well. Around 10 weeks squirrels eating solid foods usually reject formula. As the squirrels become older and more mobile, you will need to place them in a cage.

Hand-feeding Adult Squirrels

• 8

  Provide a warm cage or box for an injured or sick adult squirrel. You must get it warm before it can be fed. Create a box similar to one for infant squirrels with removable absorbent lining.

• 9

  Provide fluids with a dropper. If the squirrel is too weak to open its mouth, you may have to dribble some water or Pedialyte on the animal's mouth to get some fluid in. Be careful not to let the squirrel breathe the fluid into its lungs.

• 10

  Give the squirrel a varied diet once it can eat on its own. Adult squirrels eat a variety of foods, including nuts, shoots, bark, acorns, seeds and leaves. Do not give the squirrel peanuts because they have no nutritional value for the animal. Squirrels will also eat apples, grapes, dried fruit and carrots.

• 11

  Do not hand-feed an adult, healthy squirrel. Place food and water in shallow dishes. Squirrels are not focused eaters as they are instinctively looking for predators while eating. Most squirrel bites happen when food is given to them by hand, and they carry diseases including tularaemia and typhus. If you are bitten, clean the wound with soap and water and go to your doctor or local emergency room for a tetanus shot and other treatment.